


One Hour More

by hellosisters666



Category: IT (2017) RPF, IT - Stephen King
Genre: Confessions, Crying, Fix-It, IT Chapter Two Spoilers, Losers Club (IT) Friendship, M/M, Reddie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-12
Updated: 2019-09-12
Packaged: 2020-10-16 22:02:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20610035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellosisters666/pseuds/hellosisters666
Summary: Richie decided while the love of his life was dying in his arms was the perfect time to come clean.





	One Hour More

_"Richie! I did it! I think I killed it for real!"_

~~~  
Warm liquid was flowing over Richie Tozier hands.

Blood.

Eddie's Blood. 

His futile attempt to stop up the wound with his jacket was wearing thin, and his hands and Eddie's shirt were completely soaked. He could feel Eddie's shaking breaths with the rise and fall of his torn open chest. when he imagined holding Eddie in his arms, he hadn't pictured him bleeding out as he did so.

_Shit_

"Richie I-" Eddie started, his voice weak and shaken. He seemed serious, he could see it in Eddie's eyes. Richie leaned forward. "I fucked your mom." Richie bit back a laugh, Eddie didn't try to contain his amusement at his own joke, chuckling warmly.

Damn. Even bleeding out from a fatal wound the man could still make Richie fall deeper in love with him. His eyes gleamed with mischief. Richie noticeably softened. Eddies laughs soon turned to coughs, he sputtered blood, turning gently and spitting red onto the nearby rocks. His breath shook even more on his next inhale. Richie applied more pressure to the wound, but it wasn't enough.

"Shit Richie. I don't want to die here. In some dank cave stabbed by a spider-clown. Can't even see the stars." Eddies voice had gone soft, teary.

"You're not gonna die here Eds. I promise." Richie wasn't sure if he believed his own words. He needed Eddie to live through this. He had to have hope.

"Don't call me Eds, Trashmouth." Richie felt warm at the familiar nickname. Eddie managed to crack a smile. his eyes twinkling. _Fuck._ Richie took a deep breath and came to a realization. If Eddie died here and Richie never told him how he felt, Richie wouldn't be able to live with himself.

_Now or never, Tozier._

"Eddie, I have to tell you something." Richie had to avert his eyes. 

"What? You and my mom are getting married and you turning my old room into a craft room?" Eddie Coughed. Richie knew from experience that the childish humor was Eddie deflecting. If he was gonna live, they would need to get him out of there, and soon.

"No, I- um, fuck-" The words just wouldn't come. 

"Spit it out, trashmouth. I don't got all day." Eddie weakly gestured towards his injury. Richie took a deep and steadying breath.

"Eddie, I'm in love with you." Richie spat quickly, Screwing his eyes shut. After a brief moment of silence, Richie continued. "and not like, as a friend, like-shit I-" Richie ran a bloodied hand through his hair. "Since we were kids. I carved our initials on the kissing bridge, you know." Richie let out a weak laugh. "and when I was dating that cheerleader in highschool? Everytime I kissed her I thought about you, Eds." Richie's eyes leaked gentle tears. "I know this is really shit timing, and you're married, and, you know, straight, but-"

"You didn't want me to die without telling me?" Eddie interrupted. Richie looked up, eyes wide.

"No! No, I-" Eddie silenced him by lacing their fingers together and squeezed their hands. Richie, confused, looked down at their interlocked fingers and then back up at the other man. They looked at each other in the eyes for a moment. Richie saw nothing but love in the other man's eyes, his tears began to flow faster. For a second, Eddie wasn't bleeding out, and there wasn't a killer clown entity, and there was nothing but Richie and Eddie, that was perfect.

"Richie." Eddie's voice was steely. unwavering.

Eddie separated their hands and raised his hand to caress Richie's cheek. 

"yes?"

"Go kill that fucking clown."

~~~

"Fuck! we did it! we fuckin did it!" Mike exhaled, his voice weak and breathy. Richie breathed in, he almost let a smile grace his lips, almost let the victory sink in, but then he remembered. 

_Eddie!_

He rushed over to where he left Eddie, abandoning the other losers as they reveled in their victory.

"Eddie!" Richie collapsed onto his knees in the dirt. "Eddie, hey, Eds, come on. Wake up, we won, Eddie!" he jostled the other man's body. Eddie remained still. "come on, Eds. please! You gotta get up!"

Bev grabbed his shoulder gently. Richie let loose a pitiful sob.

"Honey. he's- he's gone." she said. 

"_No!"_ Richie screamed. wrenching out of Bev's grip. 

"He can't be! He's not! Come on Eddie, please! You can't be dead!" Richie tightened his hold on Eddie's arms. His world was shattering into fractals. "He's still warm!"

Bill reached out his hand, feeling Eddie's wrist. "Shit, Richie's right! He has a pulse! Guys, we gotta get him out of here!"

Mike, Ben, and Bill hoisted Eddie up as Bev coaxed a broken Richie to his feet with one arm, wrapping him in a comforting embrace whilst calling an ambulance with the other.

~~~

"Do you need any help?" Richie tottered forward and backward on his feet, hands in his pockets. 

"I think I can get out of your dumbass car on my own, trashmouth." Eddie smiled. "I don't understand why you needed to buy such a flashy car anyways. Rich." 

Richie stood patiently as Eddie climbed out of the car. It had been 2 weeks since his injury and he was still noticeably weakened. It took all of Richie's willpower not to help the other.

Neither boy had said anything about the confession Richie had made in the cave. Richie didn't even know if Eddie remembered it. Richie was planning on heading home in two days and before he left, he decided to give his confession a clear second shot, and there seemed only one appropriate place to do that. So he invited Eddie, who had been cooped up on bed rest for the last 13 days and was going slightly stir crazy, to run an undisclosed errand with him.

"the kissing bridge?" Eddie asked, but it's clear it wasn't a question he wanted an answer to. In any other situation this would have been followed by a _jeez, Tozier, did you come to see where I carved mine and your mom's name?_ or something similar. there was a beat of silence.

"What was your errand, Richie?" Eddies voice was soft. 

"Listen, Eds-" "don't call me E-" "Whatever." Richie took a deep breath.

"I just wanted to say, I mean, tell you- I meant what I said in the cave. about loving you. and I was thinking maybe you forgot cuz' of the trauma or the, you know, blood loss, but if we're just gonna forget everything when we go home anyways, I thought, what's the harm in being clear about my feelings before we go."

Richie ran his fingers over the faded carving. R+E in his messy teen handwriting. He couldn't count the times adolescent Richie had cried here.

"Richie-"

"Its totally fine if you don't, you know, feel the same."

"Richie," he said, firmly. "I love you too." Eddie stared into Richie's eyes.

"_what?_" Richie felt like he was going to pass out.

"I have loved you since I first watched you wade around in a goddamn sewer."

"_Eddie-"_

"You can't even count the times I wrote down in my journal 'reasons I shouldn't be in love with Richie 'trashmouth' Tozier.' but I did. and I do."

"But, your wife-"

"Divorced. Before I even came here. When I began to remeber derry, I just couldn't do it anymore."

the two boys simply stared into each other's eyes. It was like they were teenagers again. confessing feelings, unable to look at one another. Aching to just cling to each other and never let go.

"Eddie." Richie breathed. taking a step towards the other boy.

"Richie." Eddie responded. they clasped hands. Faces inching ever closer.

When the two's lips met, everything was perfect. as if they had never forgotten each other. they fit perfectly together. Love was poured into their kiss, Eddies arms thrown around Richie's neck and the taller boy's hands holding Eddie’s hips. They deepend the kiss until they finally broke for air.

"fuck, I've been waiting forever to do that." Richie couldn't stop smiling, Moving his hand to hold Eddie's cheek, running his thumb along Eddie's cheekbones. the smaller boy nuzzled into it.

"Should have done it sooner, trashmouth." Eddie looked more like himself than he had since the caves.

"Hey, you're the one who just kissed 'trashmouth.'" Richie feigned shock. dropping his hands from Eddie's face. 

"hell yeah I did," Eddie grabbed the collar of Richie's shirt and pulled them together.

"and I think I want to do it again." 

~~~

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed!


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